Vivariums and set up
This is my vivarium as bought from Ebay. Not only was it a lot cheaper than new shop bought models, it came with a Habistat dimming thermostat (worth £48), flourescent light, starter and two heat bulbs. This will save me a lot of money. It may not look very pretty at the moment, but if you check out the accessories page you will see how I made it ready for the beardies!
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You may want to consider building a vivarium - this isn't too hard to do, and you can get the wood and glass ready cut to size for you at many places. There are a number of descriptions of how people went about building their vivariums on the mybeardeddragons forum.
It is best to get your vivarium set up and ready to go with all heat and lighting installed at least a week before you get your bearded dragon. This will give you time practicing with the heat and lighting, and making sure that you get the temparatures exactly right to give your new pet the best start in life!
It is best to get your vivarium set up and ready to go with all heat and lighting installed at least a week before you get your bearded dragon. This will give you time practicing with the heat and lighting, and making sure that you get the temparatures exactly right to give your new pet the best start in life!
Essential Equipment for your vivarium
Now you have your vivarium you need to set about converting it into an eco-system to support your bearded dragon. This is more than simply providing heat and lighting, as you need to mimic as far as possible its natural habitat.
Bearded dragons come from the hot deserts of Australia. They are exposed to very strong sunlight, and need the rays from the sun to allow them to absorb vitamins. In the vivarium we use a UVB tube (8 - 10% strength) to provide this. The UVB light must be on for 12 - 14 hours per day (slightly longer in summer). Compact UVB lights are not recommended, as they don't distribute the UVB evenly throughout the viv. You need a starter for your UV tube, and if you are not going to be around to switch the light on or off, a timer switch is a useful accessory.
You should arrange your vivarium so that the beardie is exposed to UVB whilst the light is on - beardies have no use for caves, and if they hide in them it means they will not be getting enough UV.
Now we need to think about heat - bearded dragons are cold blooded, and need to be able to self regulate their temparature. They do this by moving from a hot area to a cooler one when they want to cool down, and moving to a hot area when they feel chilled. To enable them to do this in a vivarium you create a basking spot at one end of the viv by putting a basking light above a rock or branch onto which they can climb. The basking light should be a bright light to attract them to the heat -after all, in the wild, they would lie in the sun to warm up. Under the basking light the temparature should reach around 105 degrees.
The other end of the vivarium should be kept to around 85 degrees - this range of 20 degrees means they can warm up and cool down at will. To control the temperatures and keep them to these settings you need a thermostat. The probe of the thermostat should be placed so that it keeps the cool end cool, usually this means putting the probe towards the cool end of the vivarium. You cannot rely on the temperature settings on the thermostat, but instead need to check the actual temperatures you are obtaining with a thermometer. Keeping a dual display digital thermometer in the vivarium enables you to see both the basking temp and cool end temps at a glance.
The flooring of the vivarium is very important, and you should think carefully about the substrate. For a beardie younger than six months there is nothing safer to use than plain kitchen roll. This cannot be swallowed, and presents no risk at all. Other completely risk free substrates are tiles or vinyl, although you need to be careful these are not slippery as an active beardie chasing a cricket could lose its footing and slide into a rock. When the beardie is six months or more you can use fine play sand - don't be tempted to use calci sand, and never use wood chip. Swallowed wood chips are a common cause of death iin beardies. A mixture of sandstone tiles and play sand is a good substrate, and will help keep a beardie's nails trimmed.
To complete your set up you need shallow bowls for food and water.
Now you have your vivarium you need to set about converting it into an eco-system to support your bearded dragon. This is more than simply providing heat and lighting, as you need to mimic as far as possible its natural habitat.
Bearded dragons come from the hot deserts of Australia. They are exposed to very strong sunlight, and need the rays from the sun to allow them to absorb vitamins. In the vivarium we use a UVB tube (8 - 10% strength) to provide this. The UVB light must be on for 12 - 14 hours per day (slightly longer in summer). Compact UVB lights are not recommended, as they don't distribute the UVB evenly throughout the viv. You need a starter for your UV tube, and if you are not going to be around to switch the light on or off, a timer switch is a useful accessory.
You should arrange your vivarium so that the beardie is exposed to UVB whilst the light is on - beardies have no use for caves, and if they hide in them it means they will not be getting enough UV.
Now we need to think about heat - bearded dragons are cold blooded, and need to be able to self regulate their temparature. They do this by moving from a hot area to a cooler one when they want to cool down, and moving to a hot area when they feel chilled. To enable them to do this in a vivarium you create a basking spot at one end of the viv by putting a basking light above a rock or branch onto which they can climb. The basking light should be a bright light to attract them to the heat -after all, in the wild, they would lie in the sun to warm up. Under the basking light the temparature should reach around 105 degrees.
The other end of the vivarium should be kept to around 85 degrees - this range of 20 degrees means they can warm up and cool down at will. To control the temperatures and keep them to these settings you need a thermostat. The probe of the thermostat should be placed so that it keeps the cool end cool, usually this means putting the probe towards the cool end of the vivarium. You cannot rely on the temperature settings on the thermostat, but instead need to check the actual temperatures you are obtaining with a thermometer. Keeping a dual display digital thermometer in the vivarium enables you to see both the basking temp and cool end temps at a glance.
The flooring of the vivarium is very important, and you should think carefully about the substrate. For a beardie younger than six months there is nothing safer to use than plain kitchen roll. This cannot be swallowed, and presents no risk at all. Other completely risk free substrates are tiles or vinyl, although you need to be careful these are not slippery as an active beardie chasing a cricket could lose its footing and slide into a rock. When the beardie is six months or more you can use fine play sand - don't be tempted to use calci sand, and never use wood chip. Swallowed wood chips are a common cause of death iin beardies. A mixture of sandstone tiles and play sand is a good substrate, and will help keep a beardie's nails trimmed.
To complete your set up you need shallow bowls for food and water.
The Dragon's Lair....
Obviously the first step before getting your dragon is to make it a home! A vivarium for a dragon is more than a rabbit hutch or hamster cage, it has to be a miniature eco system so the dragon can live as near enough naturally as he would in the wild.
What goes inside the vivarium is discussed in Accessories
For bearded dragons the vivarium is going to have to be large! Bearded dragons will grow up to between 38cm to 60cm (15 to 24 inches). It is recommended that for a single bearded dragon the vivarium should be 180 cm long, by 45 cm wide by 40 cm tall (72 x 18 x 16 inches). As you can tell you will need to make sure you have the space to house something this large!
The vivarium must not be placed anywhere where it would be in light for 24 hours, or somewhere subject to loud noises, as both of these will cause the dragon stress.
Obviously the first step before getting your dragon is to make it a home! A vivarium for a dragon is more than a rabbit hutch or hamster cage, it has to be a miniature eco system so the dragon can live as near enough naturally as he would in the wild.
What goes inside the vivarium is discussed in Accessories
For bearded dragons the vivarium is going to have to be large! Bearded dragons will grow up to between 38cm to 60cm (15 to 24 inches). It is recommended that for a single bearded dragon the vivarium should be 180 cm long, by 45 cm wide by 40 cm tall (72 x 18 x 16 inches). As you can tell you will need to make sure you have the space to house something this large!
The vivarium must not be placed anywhere where it would be in light for 24 hours, or somewhere subject to loud noises, as both of these will cause the dragon stress.
Where to get your vivarium
Vivariums can be made, or bought ready made. Your local pet store may well stock them, but you will find the costs very expensive. For example, I was advised to buy a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium at the cost of £220 from my local store. This almost caused my parents to cancel the project!
So we started to look around, and found Ebay an excellent source. Okay, so the vivarium may be second hand, but as long as it is clean, serviceable and pleasant to look at, does it really matter? At £82 my 5ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium seemed a real bargain!
Vivariums can be made, or bought ready made. Your local pet store may well stock them, but you will find the costs very expensive. For example, I was advised to buy a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium at the cost of £220 from my local store. This almost caused my parents to cancel the project!
So we started to look around, and found Ebay an excellent source. Okay, so the vivarium may be second hand, but as long as it is clean, serviceable and pleasant to look at, does it really matter? At £82 my 5ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium seemed a real bargain!